Thank you NetGalley & Ultimo Press for my e-ARC.

The Woman in the Library is a murder mystery, which begins in the Boston library with a group of young(ish) adults with the transfixing scream of a mystery woman. Our protagonist, Freddie (Winifred), toys with the idea of using the other three at her table as inspiration for her writing, and a friendship is quickly struck up within the group.

Each chapter is ended with email correspondence to Hannah, the writer of the above tale, from her 'beta reader' Leo. As the story progresses, his input becomes more forceful and dark, and alludes to something very chilling.

White this did first through me a bit and was a little confusing, once I acclimatized I enjoyed the meta aspect of the story, and felt like it really lifted it from the usual murder mystery template.

I also enjoyed the corrections of her Australian writing colloquialism from Leo, and the 'discussion' around whether or not to acknowledge the COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise his correspondence was unsettling which certainly reflects well on Gentill's writing skills.

3.5 STARS

If you like mystery and thrillers this is for you.

Executed with absolute perfection this has more twists and turns than you can believe and is written with the kind of character study that will make you buy this in every format.

Wonderful

A really enjoyable read, that's well written. A mix of two stories intertwined with good development of characters and storylines that keep you turning pages.

A very fresh, original and witty crime novel, with a great dual narrative approach. I found the characters a little hard to distinguish in places but it's highly entertaining.

The Woman in the Library stylishly showcases Sulari Gentill's writing skills, with multiple levels of story telling neatly stacked, and packed into one novel. More on this below, but I'll start by saying that the book combines an old-fashioned murder mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie with a very contemporary twist pertaining to one particular aspect of the plot.

To pique the reader's curiosity, there is first a meta aspect to this novel, featuring a story neatly placed within the framework of the larger effort at storytelling that is underway.

Hannah is a successful Australian author whose new novel is set in the United States. As she writes one chapter after another - while Australia crackles under the pressure of bushfires, floods and the unfolding COVID 19 pandemic - Hannah finds herself corresponding regularly with a fellow writer named Leo, who is based in the U.S. As a resident of Boston, the city where Hannah's story is set, Leo offers to help her with getting the finer details of her story right, and in the process, also becomes a beta reader for her.

The protagonist of Hannah's novel is Freddie, also a writer, who is on a writing residency in Boston, and is an Australian too. To make the meta angle even stronger, Hannah includes in Freddie's adventures a character named Leo, who is an American writer who's part of the same residency that Freddie is in the U.S. for.

If you're finding this a little confusing, don't worry. It took me a bit of time to get my head around what was "real" and what was part of the novel Hannah was writing about Freddie. That said, this is actually a very enjoyable book, and it is easy to read once the meta aspects have been properly internalized.

Hannah's protagonist Freddie is attempting to make progress on her novel by working at the Boston Public Library, when she - along with three of the people she is sharing a table with - are transfixed by the sound of a woman screaming somewhere in the Library.

Based on this shocking shared experience, Freddie and the three Americans, a woman and two men, become friends. Delighted as she is to have made friends with this trio of interesting people, including a possible love interest, Freddie soon finds herself caught up in an inexplicable series of events that begins with the discovery of a dead woman's body in the Library, a day after they heard the scream. To make matters worse, all three of her new friends turn out to be linked to this incident in some way.

Soon, Freddie is unsure who to trust anymore, despite the fact that she has incorporated these three people as characters in her novel, the writing of which is progressing nicely! The same cannot be said of the murder investigation into the woman's death.

Nevertheless, despite the troubling sequence of events that is unfolding, there is a quality of innocence and light-heartedness about this story which is reminiscent of classic murder mysteries.

This contrasts quite sharply with the more contemporary flavour of the overarching story that Sulari Gentill offers, providing a piquant comparison to titillate the reader's palate.

Thus, as Hannah writes each chapter of Freddie's story, and emails it to her beta reader Leo in Boston, a somewhat sinister tone begins to emerge in the correspondence between the two. Is Leo in fact a writer, as he claims to be? And is he even who he says he is?

The creepiness that begins to emerge in their relationship somehow feels distinctly contemporary, and is very effective in creating another layer of suspense for the reader.

All in all, I loved this book and how it combined the classic and the contemporary in its approach to writing murder mysteries. It's an easy read, but some aspects will likely remain with the reader for quite some time. I certainly won't forget this book anytime soon!

This story revolves around a library, around strangers becoming friends and about sharing stories.

But I must say I was a bit confused with the story, the layout, the genre. It seemed to jump around a bit as it was written in different characters view points. I like the murder mystery aspect, but I found the pace a bit slow. I liked the thrills of the story and the murder but I found it lacking a bit.

And I must say the ending was a bit untidy for me. It was just a bit weird, patchy, scrambled and slow for y liking.

Interesting mix of two stories intertwined. The author writing to a person helping her with setting the story ends up becoming the darkest twist and really makes this book stand out from the usual crowd. Well written with good development of characters and great cliff hangers to keep you turning pages into the night

Unfortunately I really couldn't get into this one, and I think it hinges on the writing style. It's a story within a story, told partially through email correspondence that really threw me out of the main plot. The correspondence add nothing to the over arcing plot at all and serve only as a distraction. I wanted more of the murder mystery, less of the character study on being an author.

What a really fun read, that kept me guessing right to the end. I loved the library setting, and the links to writing for all of these characters. I especially enjoyed the sub plot, which was so creepy I went to bed with the stair light on last night! There's something for everyone in this; women's fiction, thriller, crime, and romance all blend together to make a delightful tale. Wasn't expecting much from this one, but. I was genuinely pleasantly surprised.

I'm sorry to say but this book didn't work for me. AT ALL.
From the very start I struggled to engage with the plot. What is this meant to be? Literary fiction? Mystery? Romance? or just a really boring character study that is full of unlikeable characters who would never become friends in real life?
As this is a book within a book, it soon became confusing and lines were very blurred which made it difficult for me to follow.
By the 40% mark I was fast losing the will to read it and was considering DNF. But I persevered. However by the final 20% I was skimming. I just didn't care about it in the slightest.
The interludes featuring Leo writing to the author did interest me at first, but once you realise they have absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever, I gave up reading them.
One thing that I might have been interested in was the point of view of Hannah the author who was being sent the letters from Leo. But she played no part in this whatsoever! Why?!
Overall this whole thing felt like a mess to me. There are plenty of good reviews for this, so maybe I'm the odd one out here but this was a big failure for me.

This is a book within a book. Bestselling author, Hannah, writes the story of four strangers who become friends after hearing a mysterious scream in the library. Interspersed between chapters of this murder-mystery novel we get the emails she's exchanging with her beta reader, Leo. Leo is a struggling aspiring author himself, alternately starstruck and jealous of Hannah's success. The format is experimental and creative but unfortunately, I'm a basic bitch. My four stars are exclusively for the murder-mystery. I didn't feel the meta-commentary in the emails added much, and just slowed down the story I was interested in!

I received this arc for free from netgalley in exchange for a review.

A book... within a book... within a book?! 😳

Sounds trippy? Ha. What a unique and clever book! I really enjoyed how it discusses crime fiction, locked room mysteries, red herrings, convenient plots and other literary devices while still being a completely enthralling novel.

This is one of those books where the journey is better than the destination, so savour the ride! I was thoroughly engaged the whole time and found myself just enjoying the story instead of trying to figure out whodunit. The ending didn't wow me but there were plenty of surprises and chilling parts along the way that I loved.

I have always believed that the best stories are propelled by love regardless of genre and love how this book acknowledges that! Thanks for an entertaining read and fun literary adventure!

An extremely clever book that was hard to put down, a story within a story within a story. Clever, quirky characters along with engaging writing, the story stayed with my thoughts long after I put the book down. I am now pursuing her Roland Sinclair series.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advance digital copy, I heartily recommend this book. Truly unique and well worth reading.

Unique, Quirky, Clever…
Unique, quirky and clever storytelling once again from the pen of this very talented author. The peace and serenity of the Boston Public Library is about to be shattered, and amongst those inside sits a murderer. A plot populated with a cast of credible and deftly drawn characters, twists and turns aplenty, a plethora of suspects and a well executed multi layered narrative make this a one sit compulsive read. Perfectly paced and superbly told this is a compelling and immersive read from start to finish.

This one is good.
The whole story within a story is done incredibly well.
For the main part, the body in the library, it has plenty a twists to keep you on your toes, and make you suspect quite a few people... or maybe that's just me.
For the second part, it all starts out so we'll, then increasingly becomes darker and creepier .
The author cuts ends each section at just the right moment, leaving me wanting to know more from both stories.
Prepare to get hungry reading this, there's a lot of food consumed here.
A very enjoyable read.

The Woman In The Library is a stand-alone novel by award-winning Australian author, Sulari Gentill. Aspiring author Leo Johnson, whose opus has now attracted publisher rejections in double figures, sits in Boston Public Library’s reading room, awaiting inspiration from his uncooperative muse. His Australian correspondent, best-selling author, Hannah Tigone, takes his emailed description and incorporates it into her new novel, sending Leo chapters as they are written. Leo enthusiastically offers comments, culture and location tips, crime-scene photos, plot suggestions, and other literary feedback.

Aspiring mystery author, Winifred Kincaid (Freddie), taking advantage of her Marriot Fellowship, sits in Boston Public Library’s reading room, subtly (she thinks) examining her table neighbours, noting their descriptions and giving them tentative titles in the novel she would write about them. The silence of this private study of Freud Girl (liberally tattooed, psychology student?), Heroic Chin (Harvard law student?) and Handsome Man (dark-haired, dark-eyed classic beauty, a writer?) is suddenly broken by a piercing scream. In the immediate aftermath, four strangers become friends.

When the body of a woman is later found in a nearby library gallery room, the four speculate about the murder, curious to know more but, it seems, some of them are omitting relevant facts and keeping secrets. And the drama doesn’t end there: one of their number is mugged, another injured in an altercation with a homeless man, cell phones go missing, creepy messages are received, a food hamper mysteriously appears, someone’s mother is attacked and someone else dies.

This novel is very cleverly constructed: chapters of Hannah’s fictional murder mystery alternate with Leo’s emailed input. Hannah sometimes incorporates Leo’s feedback into ensuing chapters, and the story she creates is thoroughly gripping, with more than enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing right up to the thrilling climax. From his emails, Leo initially seems earnest and extremely thorough, but as the story advances, Hannah is probably grateful for the restrictions COVID has imposed on international travel.

The concept of a story within a story keeps the reader on their toes, and it’s easy to be thoroughly absorbed in Hannah’s story until Leo’s emails remind the reader it is fiction. But of course, it’s all fiction. And while one murderer might be an obvious pick, even the most astute reader is unlikely to settle upon the other.

This format does give the reader a peek into the world of the writer, and what needs to be considered and researched when creating a believable work of fiction. Smart and funny, this is murder mystery at its most entertaining.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Ultimo Press